Inter-Dimensional Kidnappings and Other Activities
by witchywho
Summary: Scenario: You wake up in a different world where everyone thinks you're this other kid that you're not. And then suddenly, you're tossed off into this strange world, full of strange creatures, and all you want to do really is go home. (Right?) What would you do? / Madge is not okay with this. Not at all. [oc-insert, set in Pkm White 2] Discontinued.
1. Chapter 1

**This is like the third time I have attempted an OC-Insert via Pokémon game. Hope this one goes better? Meh. Set in Pokémon White 2, this chapter starts about a month before the beginning of the game.**

* * *

I wake up in a stranger's house. Coming to slowly, in the way that I always have woken up, and before I realize where I am, I'm contemplating the strange dream. Something about a woman asking questions, but I can't remember what the woman had asked or said or even looked like. Whatever.

It was when I rolled over and reached for my glasses on the bedside table, though, when my hand met thin air. This didn't deter me, and I simply moved my hand in another direction. After three failed attempts to find the shitty glasses, though, I squinted my eyes open - and see green.

Who the hell has green carpet?

Definitely not me. Mine is the usual, monotone tan that seems to be default in houses.

 _Where the hell am I?_ I thought, pulling myself into a sitting position, the peach-colored blanket that had covered me falling into my lap.

The room isn't small, no, and there's a trashcan to her right next to a full bookshelf, to my left there's a dresser in one corner, a lamp in the other, and a long, rectangular table between them, with a set of green weights on it. Across the room there is a desk with an old school desktop PC on it, a blue chair, and another bookshelf next to it; it's pressed up to a window that lets in the light that had roused me from sleep.

Looking down at myself, I'm clearly still wearing the clothes I went to sleep in, too. Blue sports bra, Batman themed panties, and the fuzzy pink socks.

Throwing the blanket off, I see no wounds, no pin-pricks or bruises where someone could have drugged me. The only 'wounds' there are, are the recently healed stick-n-poke tattoos across my thighs where my parents wouldn't find them.

I'm definitely confused, though, and my brain feels fuzzy. Did someone roofie me? No, I'd spent the last night celebrating the end of finals and the beginning of summer by binge watching Haikyuu! and cooing over a sport I'd never play willingly.

However, I don't feel scared. Logically, I should be scared. Waking up in a strange place after being so obviously kidnapped in a way that I hadn't even woken up? Scary. Any sane person would be flipping their shit, going ass-over-tea-kettle to find their captors. Any other day, I would be doing the same. And yet, I just sat there, half-naked, scratching at my scalp and pulling dyed-dark-blue hair into a greasy bun on the top of my head.

(Internally, I was a bit scared of myself and my own reactions. This was what my mother and caseworker were talking about when they said I didn't register risky behavior in the way I should. However, this was much more dangerous than what they'd been talking about at the time…)

"Madge?"

I jumped at my name, shoulders tensing up and breath hitching, muscles tensed very suddenly. There was a woman standing in the door of the room to my right. She had brown hair done up in a large bun on her head, big ears sticking out and making her look vaguely monkey-ish, brown eyes, and wearing a blue shirt, jeans, and an orange apron-skirt.

"Hun, are you okay? I heard you talking in your sleep," said the woman.

I didn't respond. I stared at my captor. Okay, now I was a bit panicked about the situation. Not enough, though. Needed to take my meds, they usually fixed my moods and decision-making.

 _Like my captor would be that kind, though_ , I thought sadly.

"Well, I'm making breakfast if you want any." The woman shrugged, as if it was fine whether or not I left the bed that wasn't mind to eat.

And because she was clearly waiting for a response, I whispered out a strained, "Okay."

And then the woman was gone.

 _Come on, Madge, act like a regular person for once and freak out_ , I demanded of myself. _Scream, cry, crawl out the window and run away! Anything!_

The energy needed for that, though, wasn't mustered up. Instead, I laid back down in the bed and shivered. Simply stared at my nails, where the red nail polish was chipped in places, and the ink stains from recent tattooing endeavors.

I only rolled out of bed and searched for something to put on over my underwear when the unmistakable smell of bacon wafted through the open doorway. Whoever lived here usually was a very clean person, organized; the dresser was not only sorted but color coded. However, they had only an assortment of leggings, shorts, white socks, and baseball tees of various colors.

I ended up pulling on a blue-and-white baseball tee few sizes too, rolling the sleeves up to my elbows, and a pair of black shorts that were a bit too tight around my hips and a bit too breezy. It would do, though.

The first thing I noticed upon leaving the room was the potted plant in a corner, as well as the tiled flooring. It wasn't porcelain, but it wasn't wood, and it creeped me the fuck out. With a deep frown, I walked down the hall, away from the staircase that led up, and followed the smell of food.

My captor was setting plates on a small table across the room, in the 'kitchen' area of the very open floor plan. There were more bookshelves around it, as well as… a model Ferris Wheel? A doll of some creepy thing? To the right there was a bookshelf, a blue couch, a flat screen TV, and a Wii console set up, too.

The woman looked up from setting the plates up. "Madge! Don't leave your mother standing around waiting for you, come sit down and eat!"

 _Mother?_ I thought to herself in confusion. _Jesus, please don't let her have psychosis or delusions._

Silently, though, and unwilling to upset my captor lest she get violent, I went to sit at the table. Breakfast came in the form of eggs, bacon, and toast, as well as a glass of orange juice. Though oranges were perhaps my least favorite fruit in the world, I guzzled down the drink with a straight face, watching the woman carefully.

This was, perhaps, the craziest situation I'd ever gotten into. And that was counting that time with the pregnant cat in the sewers, which, ew, didn't even want to think about…

"What do you plan on doing today, Madge?" asked the woman. "I know your friend Hugh is probably getting up to trouble already…"

I shrugged and stuffed a piece of toast in my mouth so I wouldn't have to answer. This didn't deter the woman, though.

"If you plan on staying in the house for the day, I'll be in the garden if you need me," she said with a smile.

What kind of kidnapper let their victim roam free? Nonetheless, I was a bit too confused to want to leave the house. What if we were in a foreign country and the captor was the only one who spoke English? I only spoke French with the fluency of a toddler! I didn't even speak a lick of Spanish! No, I was fine staying in the house until I got my bearings or my captor wisened up to proper kidnapping techniques.

Soon enough, my captor whisked the empty plates and glasses off to the sink, slipped off the apron and grabbed some gardening gloves in a drawer, wished me goodbye for the garden, and left. Leaving me all alone.

Instantly, I was out of my seat and inspecting the room. The kitchen held only culinary supplies, but I did grab one of the knives and stuck it in the waistband of 'my' shorts. The TV didn't turn on, simply showed static, and the Wii seemed dead or burned out. The Ferris Wheel was just a toy, and the stuffed doll was even creepier up close than it was far away, if a bit… strangely adorable.

The bookshelves only held books on some fantasy creature species. Most seemed to be children's books on the lower shelves, with the more advanced ones on the top. An inspection of the bookshelves in 'my' bedroom and revealed the same thing.

The computer was something weird, though. It only showed a blue screen. Like a dial-up error without the terrible noises.

It was only thirty minutes after my captor had left for the garden - which could be seen outside the window in 'my' bedroom - that I gave up and curled up on the bed to keep an eye on the woman. I wanted to go home, but found myself completely uninterested in running away from this place. After all, if this woman was able to sneak me away in the dead of night, without waking me, then it was completely likely that she'd be able to catch any escape attempts made.

No, the best course of action was to stay in place. Wait and watch for the outcome, see where this was all going, and try to get home whenever I could.

(Didn't mean I was happy, though.)

* * *

Two more days passed like this, doing nothing but waiting and watching.

Eventually, though, the boredom of just watching some lady garden and cook got to be too much, and I grabbed one of the books off a shelf to read. It was about a made-up country called Unova, where creatures called Pokémon lived alongside humans. It was somewhat interesting in that it gave some background on the mythological place. Twin brothers uniting the land with Pokémon of Truth and Ideals to create some Yin-Yang sort-of force.

However, the got through the book much too quickly, and simply delved into the others. Unfortunately, the rest seemed to be romance novels that didn't give much information, even the ones in the living room; it was the children's books that explained more on Pokémon, how they came to be with with universe.

The lore was fascinating in how, in the midst of such nothingness, an egg was hatched to create the first Pokémon, Arceus. The creation of the universe itself, but the Pokémon Dialga and Palkia, after the banishment of Giratina to the Distorted World, and then the later creation of knowledge, emotion, and willpower with the next three - everything of the fantasy world my captor seemed fascinated with was scarily beautiful.

It was only a week into the kidnapping, though, that my captor pushed me outside into the garden and ordered me to get some sun. The garden was cropped off on two sides by tall trees, one side by the house, and the last by a fence that only showed a paved road, the forest on the other side, and a small pond near it.

While the woman worked, I lay in the dirt between budding plants and looked up at the blue sky. A week and I hadn't escaped, not that I had tried - but it was also a week where my captor didn't mention anything about the kidnapping. Nothing about ransoms or sending things to my parents to let them know I was alive - nothing.

It was too peaceful, too normal, and I didn't know what to do.

(The woman would decide for me, it seemed, when she was able to turn on the TV, a miracle I assumed - and then I found out where we were.)

(Turns out this was in another world, in Unova of all goddamn-places, and my captor was probably not a captor but an unfortunate bystander in inter-dimensional kidnapping of a sort. How was I supposed to get home now? Was I going to have to pray to Arceus or something?)

(I tried. Didn't work.)

* * *

A few weeks into my stay, I had been everywhere in Aspertia City, which wasn't really a City but more of a larger town with a few apartment buildings, a Pokémon Gym that was empty because the Gym Leader was out or something, and a Pokémon Center that was barely used for its intended purpose. The highlight of the 'city' was the Outlook, which gave a really nice view to the surrounding areas.

The people were nice enough around town, and I had run into the aforementioned Hugh a few times, who was always going on about becoming a Pokémon Trainer while his little sister, Julia, stumbled after him with star-struck eyes. However, no one would let me leave the city, said it was too dangerous to leave without a Pokémon.

The only reason I even knew what half of these terms meant were because of the kids' books I read at night. The daughter I had obviously replaced, somehow, had aspirations to be a Pokémon Trainer or maybe a Ranger, because there were little notes in swirling handwriting among the books about things like which 'starter' would be best, pros and cons, etcetera.

There were times where I worried about my parents and family. However, if I was right in my theories, this other Madge that was probably in _my_ world would be in the same boat as me. Surrounded by people who thought we were the other.

Which meant my parents weren't worried about me, just confused over 'my' change in behavior.

(I still hadn't figured out the woman's name. Instead, I just took to calling her Mom, to the woman's obvious delight and relief. My Ma was my Ma, and this woman would be 'my' Mom, I guess…)

And then one day, Mom walked in with a delighted grin on her face, called me out of Other-Madge's room and asked a question that would change everything.

"Do you know Professor Juniper?" Mom asked. "She's a famous Pokémon researcher…"

And so it began.

* * *

 **Blegh. Hope you liked it. Madge has no Pokémon yet.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back. Back to Madge, now.**

* * *

When I was little, I used to dream about going on an adventure. However, times change and so do people, myself included. Kidnapping doesn't help, especially inter-dimensional kidnapping.

"Madge, com on," Hugh whined, tugging at my hand at the foot of the stairs leading up to Aspertia City's Outlook. "Bianca's probably waiting up there! It's the last place to check!"

When Other-Madge's Mom had asked all those questions about Pokémon and something called a Pokedex, I had initially refused her offer of having a Pokemon. After living in this godforsaken world a month already, I had encountered enough 'domestic' Pokemon to keep me happy. Plus, why would I take on such a responsibility if I was just going to try and figure a way out to get home?

Other-Madge would probably be hella mad if I stole her chance at a Pokemon Journey, which seemed to be all the rage in this world.

"Madge!" Hugh shouted in my ear once more. Like I hadn't already heard him.

And then the black-haired, vaguely-Asian boy grabbed my arm in an iron-grip and began to drag me up the stairs. Jesus christ, why couldn't Other-Madge have been sorta-friends with someone else? Someone less pushy and intent on finding a fellow Pokemon Trainer in this City?

Hugh stopped at the last landing before the Outlook, pushing me forward with a mumbled 'good luck' and leaving me to stumble up the stairs without him.

In the month I've been captive here, not many people have come to visit Aspertia City. It's so boring that I think the Gym Leader's 'vacation' is literally just an excuse to stay far away from this place. I've seen everyone who lives here at least twice now, and so the strange woman with a green-and-orange color scheme leaning against the Outlook's railings is a new sight. Almost welcome if I didn't know what she heralded.

With a groan, I quietly glanced over my shoulder. Hugh was standing on the landing, watching me intently with an encouraging smile. Ugh. Clenching my fists, I walked foward to stand next to my doom and muttered a hello.

The woman,who had blonde hair in a bob style with red glasses over her green eyes, didn't even look at me. "It's sooo pretty!"

It was only then that she turned and faced me. She wore green capris, a white-and-black tank top under a puffy orange jacket, orange shoes, a green hat with a white boy, and a green over-the-shoulder purse. She was definitely cute, though, I noticed.

"Hey there!" she greeted me. "Don't you agree?"

I glanced over the railing, looking at the view of forests and lakes and a mountain range in the distance, before nodding. "Yeah, it's very beautiful. Are you Bianca?"

The woman nodded with a bright smile. "Yep, that's me! I'm the assistant of the Pokemon Professor - Professor Juniper. By the way, I'm looking for someone. Do you know a person named Madge?"

Grimacing in lieu of a smile, I gestured to myself. "At your disposal."

Bianca gasped and looked me up and down. "You're Madge? Wow, the picture must've been super old. Nice to meet you! I have a really important request to ask!" She fiddled with her hat nervously. "Will you help us complete the Pokedex?"

Running a hand through my loose hair, I shook my head. "Sorry, but no."

Bianca's face drooped. "N-no way… I-I must have misheard you. Right? This is a very important request. Will you please help us complete the Pokedex?"

I knew what would happen if I rejected her again, and I had only done so in the first place out of hope that it would be different with Bianca. Mom had, when rejected, simply repeated the request over and over again until I had finally caved and gave in. Which was how I was in this mess.

"Sure," I said, closing my eyes briefly to pity myself.

"Oh, wow, thanks!" Bianca gushed, reaching forward to clasp my hands in hers."Your support will help Professor Juniper's research move forward! Anyway, filling up the Pokedex is totally fun!" She pulled her hands away from me to rummage in her bag. She pulled out a tray with a glass top, which rolled back. "Ok, here we go! Ta-daaa! In here is the Pokemon that will be your partner!"

What lay in the cylindrical tray were three Pokeball's with their iconic red-and-white appearance, the size of baseballs. I'd only read about them and seen them from afar before today, though. Up close, the red top of them, which appeared like plastic from a distance, was actually somewhat transparent, giving anyone a glimpse of the Pokemon held within.

The Pokemon were laying asleep, curled up in balls. The one in the middle looked like an orange-and-black pig with a red orb on its tail. The one to its right sorta looked like a penguin? But also an otter? It was white and blue with a beaver's tail and a shell on its front. The last one of the far left was green and gold colored, and it sorta looked like a snake, but with arms and feet. And a fanned tail-end.

I looked up at Bianca. Did she really expect me to just pick one? I'd read about Pokemon, for sure, and had probably read about these three, but I didn't have the best of memory. I didn't even know their names or types! I could infer, sure, but what if I was wrong?

Fuck whatever deity had brought me to this world.

Closing my eyes, I did a quick internal eeny-meeny-minny-mo and grabbed the snake-like one.

Bianca pulled the case back and smiled widely at me. "Oh, wow! You and Snivy are a perfect match! By the way, would you like to give a nickname to the Pokemon you chose?"

I stared blankly at Bianca. Really? "I think I'll wait to give 'em one for when I know 'em better."

Bianca's eyes lit up, "That's a great idea! Nice thinking, Madge! Oh, and here's your Pokedex!"

She handed me a rectangular, black-and-pink device with a screen on it to hold in my free hand. It sort-of reminded me of an old iPod. From the looks of it, it would slide up, too.

Bianca interrupted my thoughts, though. "You want to know what it does?"

Not particularly. "Sure."

"The Pokedex is a high-tech device that automatically records the Pokemon you encounter," Bianca said. "So Professor Juniper wants you to carry this Pokedex, visit a lot of places, and meet all the Pokemon in the Unova region!"

I nodded slowly, looking at the two devices in my hands. "That's it? Send the teenager off to see the world sans parental supervision?"

Bianca laughed, waving a hand. "Oh, you'll be fine, Madge. Still, that Professor Juniper… The normal thing to do is to get an OK before sending someone clear out here, right?"

"Generally, year." I shrugged, and slipped the Pokedex into the back pocket of the only jean shorts Other-Madge owned. Clumsily tapping the button on the Pokeball to make it shrink to ping-pong size like that one book had said to, I shoved it in my front pocket. "Thanks, I guess. I'll do my best…"

Bianca smiled again, this time softer and sympathetic. "It'll go great, Madge, you just wait and see. I know starting your journey can be scary, but you'll never regret it."

I opened my mouth to say something, but hear Hugh shout. Turning, I saw him running up the stairs with an impatient face, flushed from frustration.

"How long are you planning on keeping me waiting, anyways?" he grumbled, stomping towards us. Then he saw the lump in my front pocket and pointed at it excitedly. "Hey! What's that?"

Sighing and ignoring Bianca's giggles, I pulled the Pokeball out and tapped it to resize it. And then nearly dropped it, fumbling to keep the suddenly large ball in my hands. Hugh leaned forward into my space, staring at the sleeping Pokemon within with awe-struck eyes.

"So that's your partner, huh?" he whispered. "That's great! My sister already said so, but take really, really good care of your Pokemon! Got it?"

Hugh and his sister, Julia, were always scarily serious when it came to the caring of Pokemon. I didn't know the story behind it, but I took their concerns seriously as possible, nodding to him. He nodded back, a determined glint in his eyes.

I turned to say goodbye to Bianca, but then Hugh suddenly grabbed my ass. Breath hitching, I spun around to protect myself from the attack, wondering what had gotten into Hugh - but saw that he was just holding my Pokedex. Dumbass pickpocket.

"What's this?" he asked.

Bianca took this as her time to shine, obviously; I wasn't going to explain it, anyways. Grabbing the device from Hugh, I stepped aside to let Bianca take front-and-center.

"It's a Pokedex!" she announced, hands on her hips.

Hugh's mouth dropped open for a moment in surprise, and I wondered vaguely if owning a Pokedex was special or something. He shut his mouth, though, and appeared to be thinking deeply. Rubbing his chin, he looked from me, to Bianca, to the Pokedex, and then to the ground.

And then he turned to Bianca with a begging expression. "Please give me a Pokedex, too! I want to get stronger! If I have a Pokedex, I can learn more about Pokemon… That'll make me tougher, right?"

Bianca's brow furrowed and her glasses slid down her nose a bit. I wanted to facepalm. You don't just demand people give you technology! Jesus.

"Um," Bianca said, "Who are you again?"

"I'm Hugh!" he said. I snorted. "I'm going to travel the Unova region with my Pokemon partner in order to search for something very important!"

Bianca bit her lip, and I stared at Hugh curiously. This was the first I'd heard of this. Normally, he and his sister were just going on about different species of Pokemon and their typings. Where did this 'quest' thing come from?

"Well, OK!" I started at Bianca's words; she was agreeing?! "I don't really get it, but going on a journey is always good! Anyway, I just happen to have another Pokedex on me! It looks like Pokemon distribution has really changed compared to two years ago, so the more, the merrier!"

Two years? What's the significance in that? Now that I thought about it, Bianca looked only about my age, if a bit older or younger. Hugh was, I knew, fifteen, as old as Other-Madge had been. I was seventeen going on eighteen, though.

Bianca handed Hugh a black-and-blue Pokedex after shuffling through her purse to find it. Hugh took it with gently hands and a starstruck expression, but then before I could feel any happiness for him, he looked at me with fierce eyes. That expression… I didn't like where this was going.

"Let's see how good a Trainer you are!" Hugh said, putting a fist up in front of him determinedly. "I'll use my Tepig that I raised from an Egg!"

Bianca laughed and backed up from us, and only looked amused when I turned to her for help. A Pokemon battle already? I had literally just been given my Pokemon partner. A Snivy, right?

Despite this, Hugh didn't seem to be backing down any time soon. He'd already called out his partner, which turned out to be one of those orange-and-black pigs. Sighing, I pressed the button on my Pokeball harder than previously, watching as it popped open and a blur shot out. The serpentine Pokemon stumbled to a stop and looked at me curiously, but happily.

"Sni!" it squeaked. I felt my heart drop and my blood turn cold.

How could I just _use_ this Snivy for battle? Without giving it a choice? All the books and all the experience I had with Pokemon, little though it was, had told me they had free will, feelings, and the capacity to think for themselves in a way that was on par with Humans. This was horrible, I decided. But how could I back out? Snivy, at least, didn't seem angry at the situation.

Hugh was waiting for me to make the first move. In chess, that was good, but in an actual fight, not so much. I swallowed.

"Bianca, what moves does Snivy know?" I asked loudly, and both of them seemed surprised at this question. Had they expected me to already know?

After a moment of silence, Bianca answered. "W-well, he knows Tackle and Leer. Tackle is, well, a tackle. Leer lowers your opponent's defense."

I nodded my thanks, and turned to Snivy, who was looking determined. "Use Leer on Tepig, Snivy."

Snivy turned to Tepig, crossed its arms with a clearly unimpressed look, and glared so darkly at Tepig that even Hugh shivered. However, he and his Pokemon shook it off quickly.

"Tepig, tackle!"

"Dodge it!" I parried, and Snivy flew to follow my command, but Tepig was better trained and faster, slamming into Snivy full force. "Shit. Snivy, put some distance between you two! Then use tackle!"

"Use tackle again, Tepig!" Hugh shouted, and the two Pokemon slammed into each other. It seemed to have done damage to both, the Pokemon appearing scuffed and bruised.

"Tackle Tepig before he gets his bearings!" I shouted quickly, and Snivy threw himself on Tepig again as the pig-thing tried to get up. Hugh shouted angrily and Tepig retaliated. "Again, Snivy!"

Despite how exhausted my new partner looked, he still didn't hesitate to slam into Tepig, and the other Pokemon rolled away in a dead-faint.

Hugh ran forward to reach Tepig, the battle clearly over, and I did the same to Snivy. As Hugh picked up Tepig without a second thought, I hesitated over the dirtied and exhausted serpentine Pokemon - and with a deep breath, scooped it into my arms. Snivy felt scaly and soft, like any other snake. It curled into my arms, sighing from the warmth.

Swallowing, I said quietly, "Sorry about that, Snivy. You did great, though, thanks. Let's get you some rest…"

Pulling out its Pokeball, I put Snivy away and the Pokeball into my pocket. Hugh seemed to have done the same and we smiled at each other from where we were on our knees on the ground. He let out a laugh, ruffling his hair, and I was reminded starkly of how aesthetically pretty my 'friend' was.

"Looks like you're the better trainer here," he sighed. "And just beginning, too! Jeez. I won't forget this, though! Here's your winnings…"

Part of me wanted to push the five bills of Pokedollars back at Hugh, but instead I just shoved them in my pocket and stood up, reaching out a hand to help him up.

"You and Tepig are a good team," I said softly, probably the most genuine thing I've ever said to him, and he blushed. "Thanks for the battle."

Maybe battling wasn't so bad after all.

Hugh gave me a grin, and saluted me. "Well, I'm heading off first! Get stronger and catch up with me when you can, Madge!"

I waved and watched as he ran down the stairs of the Outlook and out of sight. Jeez. So much energy.

Bianca then startled me by placing her hand on my shoulder. I'd forgotten she was there… Battling left me with adrenaline and shaky hands, it seemed.

"The Pokemon on both sides did their best!" Bianca said. "But this little one is still weak, so battle with it and make it stronger! Let's go get Snivy healed up at the Pokemon Center. It's, like, the best place ever for Pokemon who battle and get hurt!"

* * *

The sun was beginning to set on Route 19 and I hadn't moved an inch from where Bianca had just left me.

It seems that I was no longer confined to Aspertia City, in fact, the whole world was my oyster. I could go anywhere in the world. And it appeared that everyone expected me to go after Hugh to give him this giant, folded map - one of two Julia had given me, the other for myself.

Did I want to go, though? Not really. What if Aspertia City was a special place, what if that was why I had been dumped here for the inter-dimensional kidnapping? What if, by leaving, I would miss my chance to go home?

But what if I was wrong? What if my chance to go home was waiting for me out there?

I… I didn't know how to make this decision. Besides, what was I supposed to travel with? The only thing I had on me were the clothes on my back, those special running shoes Mom had given me, my Snivy, and the Pokedex! What were they expecting me to do? I wasn't some ten year old who would run off without a second thought at the idea of a great adventure anymore!

Nodding to myself, I turned back to the Guards' Stop, where Trainers and Travelers alike were documented and kept track off, while also keeping unsuspecting people from leaving without a partner to protect them, and started walking back to Aspertia. I needed an adult's opinion on this, even one who thought I was Other-Madge.

I didn't speak to anyone on my way back to the house that had been my prison the past month. The streets were silent as lamp posts began to flicker on for the night and people went inside their homes to sleep. It was eery how silent it was.

When I finally got to the House, Mom and Bianca were speaking in the kitchen. They paused when I walked in, but when I didn't say anything and simply walked to Other-Madge's room, I heard them continue on.

Night time. They expected me to go off journeying in the middle of the night. Were all adults in this world so strange? I'd get some sleep before I made any decisions. Ignoring the sounds of the two people in the kitchen, I went about my usual evening routine. Shower, wash my face, dress in pajamas, put dirty clothes in the laundry hamper in the bathroom.

When I sat on my bed, though, I placed the Pokeball that held Snivy in front of me on the blankets, next to the Pokedex. Was it cruel, to just leave Snivy in there unless I needed to battle? Was he aware? Was the Pokeball confining?

A weight settled next to me on the bed, and I startled. Looking up, Other-Madge's mom was smiling at me softly. I assumed Bianca had left.

"Madge, honey," Mom said softly, and I wondered if this was what it was like to have a… kind… parent. It felt nice. "What's wrong?"

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, debating what to say. "I… I don't know if I want to go on a Journey or not… What if I… miss something important here in Aspertia City?"

Mom reached out to place a hand on my shoulder, and I feared for a moment she would say the same sentence she had said earlier today when I first tried to refuse. Thankfully, though, she didn't.

"Madge, going on a journey is your choice, and I could never make it for you," she said quietly. "But I know a journey is a great experience, one you will love. You'll meet all kinds of people and Pokemon, make friends, and gain all new experiences. And I promise to always call you if something big happens."

I stared at the woman who had housed me, a stranger, for the past month. Unknowingly or not, she was probably the most stable person in this goddamn city. Despite all my reservations, I couldn't help but relax around her. Taking her words into account, I knew wholeheartedly that I could trust her. I was only afraid that she wouldn't notice something 'important,' like how she hadn't noticed the switch between Other-Madge and I.

Not like I could decline after that, though, without seeming like an ungrateful jackass.

I nodded, and patted her hand with a strained smile. "Thanks, Mom. I think I'll leave tomorrow, after I've had a chance to pack, you know?"

Mom nodded, and ran a hand through my hair, which by now I was used to. "Alright, honey. I'll let you get your rest, you've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow! I'll bring out all my old camping gear for your to pick from! Have sweet dreams."

And then she was gone.

And it seemed that I was going on a journey. By myself. Like an adult. Which I'm not.

Huh, this is the first strong emotion I've felt in a while. Fear.

Before I could stop myself and think about it, I reached for the Pokeball on my bed, the only used one I had since Bianca had given me five more, and pressed the button. Snivy popped out of it with a grunt, falling into my lap and looking around curiously.

"Sni? Vee? Snivy-vee?" it said, and when it was done looking at the room it looked up at me. "Nivy?"

I gave it a tentative smile. "Hi, Snivy. I don't think we were introduced yet. I'm Madge, and I guess I'm your partner now…"

Snivy seemed to grin back at me, saluting me with its tail. "Snivy! Snivy vee!"

I hope that was its own introduction. "It's nice to meet you. I thought that we should get to know one another, since we're going to be going on a journey together. I'm seventeen, I've got two younger brothers, and I'm from another world."

Why would I tell Snivy this? Simple. Who's he gonna tell? Other Pokemon? Alright. Besides, it's nice to be honest for once.

Snivy looks surprised. "Sni?"

I nodded sagely, pretending I understood. "Yup, another world. Something, maybe one of your legendary Pokemon, or a deity from my world, decided it would be the greatest decision in the world to switch me with a fifteen-year-old girl with whom I share a name. In my world, there aren't Pokemon. Just humans and regular ol' animals.

"And the thing is, Snivy, I don't want to lie to you. I'm not going on this journey to become some great Trainer. I just want to get home," I sighed and rubbed my forehead. "And I don't know if you'll be happy with that. So I'm giving you a choice. When we catch up with my… friend, Hugh, you can go with him if that's what you want. If you want a Trainer who is going for gold. I won't stop you."

Snivy looked pensive. "Sni…"

"You don't have to decide now," I added gently. "I'll ask for your answer when we catch up with him. Until then, I've got some questions for you, if you're willing to answer them."

Snivy seemed grateful for the change of subject, nodding with a grin at me. "Snivy!"

I grinned right back at it. "Alright then…"

(It was an hour later that Snivy and I passed out. Unknowing to the two of us, Mom had entered at one point to pull the blankets over us and snap a picture, smiling.)

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 **Snivy is currently level 6, his nature is Lonely, and his characteristic is that he's good at taking hits. I would go into specifics, but nah. I'm keeping track of Madge's Pokemon on an app on my iPhone. Thanks for reading, please leave a review, they make me write faster.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews. I shall endeavor to keep your interest.**

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It was early in the morning that I once more found myself on Route 19. This time, however, I was prepared. I wore one of Other-Madge's white-and-yellow baseball tees, breezy grey shorts that were short enough that most of my tattoos showed on my thighs, white socks that went halfway-up my calves, the breathable and supported running shoes Mom had given me, a Pokeball Belt around my waist with Snivy's pokeball being the only one equipped, a white-and-black baseball cap with my hair in a ponytail through it, and a large hiking backpack.

The hiking backpack was a godsend, let me tell you. Inside it were all of Other-Madge's travel-wear and breathable clothing, a travel-size cooking pot, a collapsible cooking grate, two sets of utensils, five large cans of various soups, three lighters, a pocket knife, sanitary wipes, shampoo and body wash, a towel, a toothbrush and some toothpaste, my wallet, my map, my Potions, and my empty pokeballs. Strapped to the side of it was a water bottle the size of my forearm, and to the bottom of it was the orange thermal sleeping bag.

Who knew Mom had been a traveler as a kid? That was an interesting story to say the least, about how she'd joined a group of hikers and learned tricks and tips from them. She'd seemed very happy that I'd asked about them, too, which made me wonder if Other-Madge had never been interested in it. Weird for a kid who wanted to go on a Pokemon Journey, right?

Either way, I was fully prepared for whatever would come next. I stood at the edge of the tall grass of Route 19, Pokedex in hand, and an Xtransceiver strapped to my left wrist. It honestly looked like an Apple Watch, to be honest.

"Sni?"

I looked down at my snivy, who stood next to me. "Change your mind? Wanna stay in the pokeball?"

Snivy shook his head, rolling his eyes. What a sassy dude. He tugged on my sock and pointed towards the tall grass. My lips pinched and I sighed. Snivy was an adventurous dude, I'd learned, for all that he tried to seem above everything plebian. I, on the other hand, looked at the grass that literally towered over me and wanted to turn around.

"Mkay, let's go," I said with a sigh. Sticking close together, the two of us made our way into the grass and further away from Aspertia City than I'd ever been.

Roaming around the tall grass was both scary and amazing. The sway of the grass by the wind made it almost feel as though the both of us were walking through the ocean, and if you looked up you could see the clear blue sky and the tips of trees and the birds and bird pokemon that flew around above.

Throughout it all, the sun was a harsh watcher, beating down on Snivy and I relentlessly. I was grateful for the hat I wore, but I could feel a sunburn blooming on my arms, legs, the back of my neck, and what little of my face that was touched heavily by the sun. Snivy did his best to stay in my shadow, and I was beginning to wonder if he would rather stay in his pokeball when a blur of purple slammed into the back of my legs, toppling me over easily.

With a howl, the pokemon tried to rip open my pack, while I lay there in gasping shock. Snivy, at least, wasn't so easily beat, though, and threw himself at the creature. Rolling off of my back, I took the chance to crawl myself away from the snarling pair and stand back up unsteadily.

The pokemon appeared to be a cat of some sort with purple fur spotted with tan fur and read eyes. Its claws were sharp and it bared deadly-looking fangs at Snivy, swiping and scratching at him every chance it got.

"Get in close quarters with it!" I ordered, reaching down to grab rocks that littered the ground. I wasn't going to let my partner fight by himself, taboo or not. "Overwhelm it up close! And use Leer!"

Snivy adhered to my commands like a soldier, shoving himself into the cat's space and withstanding the subsequent onslaught of claws and fangs like a trooper. Taking aim, I chucked a rock at the cat, nailing it in the side. It yowled and tried to move away, but Snivy tackled it to the ground.

I threw another rock, nailing the cat in one of its forepaws, and it hissed. Snivy continue to withstand its scramblings to escape as I threw another rock, hitting it in a hind leg.

With a screech, the cat desperately slammed Snivy into the ground with a flip and lifted up its good paw for a finishing move. Still keeping my distance, I readed my aim to throw a rock at its face this time. Before I could, bright green vines leapt out of the ground as if growing at light speed and whipped the cat pokemon away from Snivy.

The cat, knocked out, rolled to a stop a few feet from us.

Rushing forwards to Snivy, I bemoaned this world. Not even three hours into our Journey and we were already attacked and forced to fight.

Swinging my backpack off me, I unzipped it and reached inside to grab a potion, popping the cap off and gently feeding it to Snivy. The healing properties of the item took ahold in only a few seconds, and I could see the bruises and scratches and bite marks healing before my eyes. So maybe this world got a few things right, then…

"You okay, Snivy?" I asked, helped him get back on his feet.

My partner looked up at me with a cunning and delighted grin. "Sni! Sni-vy!"

Nodding, I patted him on the head and turned towards where the cat pokemon lay unconscious. Part of me wanted to leave and just figure out what that vine-thing had been, but my goddamn bleeding heart… I had skipped school once just so that I could secretly take a wounded bird to an animal rescue shelter. On my bike.

Leaving this cat pokemon, aggressive or not, was just something I couldn't do.

Creeping closer, I saw just why it had been so desperate to get at my pack. It was starving, so clearly that I could count its ribs, small and malnourished. My heart wept for it, and before I could comprehend it myself, I was reaching for another of my limited potions. Maybe it wouldn't deal with starvation, but I could heal some of its wounds, right? Feed it one of my soups when it woke?

Tilting the pokemon's head with one hand, I gently dribbled potion into its mouth and rubbed its throat to force it down. Then I repeated this. And again. And again, and again, and again until finally the potion bottle was empty and aside from the hunger, the pokemon appeared healthy enough.

It was while I was bringing out a can of soup and popping the tab open, Snivy decidedly not joining in on my endeavor to help our attacker and sitting a few feet away, that the cat-creature stirred. Probably at the smell of the chicken in the soup, which consisted of chicken, veggies, and rice mixed in the meaty broth.

"Loin?" the pokemon mumbled as I got a bit of soup onto one of my spoons. I held it out to the pokemon cautiously, watching the way its eyes darted around, as though afraid I would take the offer away and attack.

When it was clear that I was not taking back my offer, the cat-creature snaked forward to take the whole spoon in its mouth, before sliding off it. The spoon was empty. Smiling, I slowly telegraphed my movements and got a bit more onto the spoon, holding it out again. This time, it was only a few seconds before the pokemon ate it.

This pattern continued on until half the soup was eaten and the cat-creature appeared full and refused the next bite. Nodding, I pulled out a fork and guzzled half of the rest down and held the can out to Snivy. My partner sniffed derisively, but took it and the offered spoon.

When I looked at the Xtransceiver on my wrist, it sad that it was a little while afternoon. Jeez. Time flew by, hadn't it? I should probably set up camp soon…

The cat-creature didn't move as I stood and reshouldered my pack. When Snivy and I made to walk away, though, it got up and followed. Carefully, I did not acknowledge it besides glancing back once.

"Hey, Snivy," I said softly, catching my moody partner's attention. "Was that vine-thing a new move? Mom did say that Pokemon learned them on the go, right?"

Snivy nodded. "Sni! Sni vee vee!"

I assumed that was a confirmation. "Cool, we'll have to mess around with the Pokedex to see what it was. It was pretty cool."

Snivy lifted his nose into the air with a grumble, as if to say 'Of course it was, dumbass.' I smirked. My snivy was so pretentious, he really reminded me of Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter. Wait. Blinking, I thought about it.

"Hey, how do you feel about the name Salazar?" I asked curiously. Naming my snake-pokemon after Salazar Slytherin, whose House motif was a snake… My brothers would definitely call me a mega nerd right now.

Snivy considered it, before shrugging his shoulders with a nod.

"Alrighty then," I smiled widely. "Salazar the Snivy you shall be. Lovely to meet you, Sal."

Salazar didn't appear to like the shortened version much, whipping his tail at one of my feet in an effort to trip me. I snickered and reached back to tighten my ponytail and pull my hat on more firmly.

Eventually, well into the afternoon, we came upon the beginnings of a river peeking through the forest edge and decided to camp alongside it. As I set up a small fire and laid out my sleeping bag, the cat creature stayed on the other side of the fire, watching us intently. Neither Salazar nor I made any attempt to force it into action.

With the help of the pokedex, Salazar and I figured out his new move was one called Vine Whip. As quietly as I could, I scanned the cat creature and read about the pokemon. Purrloin, it was called, a Dark Type Pokemon. A thief who would trick people into letting their guards down to steal from them.

Frowning, I wondered about that. This purrloin hadn't tried to pretend at all, had simply attacked because it was desperate, and even now made no attempt to trick Salazar or I. Or maybe it was using reverse psychology? Do pokemon even have a concept of that?

Shaking my head, I slid the pokedex closed and slipped inside my sleeping bag. Salazar crawled in with me, though it was a tight fit, and we were as close to the fire as possible as the sun began to set and the air began to chill. After that long day, it wasn't hard to fall asleep.

(I dreamed of cars and actual cities and a world without pokemon. A family of five in a small house, loyal despite any… problems we they had. A teenager who wanted nothing more than to live in France. The dream left me strangely discontent.)

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 **And there's that. A hint of Madge's somewhat abusive past. Introducing a new pokemon. Salazar has been given a nickname. Please review.**


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